


dancing on cold feet

by blackkat



Series: Tumblr Drabbles [94]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eye Trauma, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, dark and fluffy, mentions of severe injury, the tagged character death is Danzo, tho lbr Shisui is a walking warning for eye trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 07:43:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15814497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat
Summary: “Shh,” Kakashi breathes against his lips, and there's a look in his eyes that he gets on the very worst missions, in the middle of a battle, when there's nothing left in him of restraint or anything beyond instinct and act-react. “You’re safe, Shisui. And I'm going to fix it.”





	dancing on cold feet

The blade of white light comes out of nowhere.

Shisui is cornered, out of breath, out of _chakra_ , missing an eye with pain burning through him at each beat of his heart. He’s ready to die, even though he hates it, hates _Danzō_ , and—

The hand holding his eye falls in a splatter of blood, sheared off at the wrist, and Danzō screams. A body whirls past him, quick-footed, and a massive dog follows with a snarl, tacking the Root member closest to Shisui. Another pair of dogs take a second, and in the same moment the blazing sword reverses, drives up and across and slices Danzō’s other arm clean off his body. Another flip, bold and fearless and showy, and the sword comes up, one hard thrust that drives it right through Danzō’s heart.

Shisui stares, uncomprehending. Can't force himself to move even as Danzō’s body falls, even as it hits the ground, still and seeping blood. It’s hard to think through the pain, the poison that’s making his limbs fuzzy, but with that sword, that _mask_ ­—

“Shisui!” a voice cries, and an instant later Bull bowls the last Root agent out of the way. A familiar figure slides through the gap, quicksilver swift, and grabs Shisui by the arm, hauling him up, getting an arm around his waist. Shisui collides with a strong body, crashes into that familiar form and gasps, all the air jolted out of his lungs. He grabs onto ANBU armor, hauls himself close, and that strong arm winds around him in return, clutches him even tighter.

“Hang on,” Kakashi breathes in his ear, like Shisui was ever going to do anything else, and then whistles, loud and sharp. “Urushi, the hand,” he says, and then, “Go.”

Bursts of smoke, all around, as the dogs vanish. Under the cover of it Kakashi leaps forward, mostly carrying Shisui, and chakra sparks. The world blurs to spinning leaves and wind, and it’s not as precise as Shisui's shunshin but it’s more than enough to get them clear, back into the village proper. Kakashi touches down on a rooftop, stumbles, drags Shisui two steps to the side and under the cover of a massive willow with a shack built beneath it. It looks like nothing more than four walls and a listing roof, but one step in and seals spread out beneath their feet, turn the rough floor to a staircase.

“Kushina's,” Kakashi says in explanation, pulling his porcelain Hound mask off to let it drop, and the set of his shoulders is tight but he keeps moving, helps Shisui down the steps and staggers with him into a darkened apartment. No dust, no sign of life, and Shisui shivers a little. It feels like old ghosts, faded and forgotten, and he doesn’t want to be here. If there's one place no one will find him, though, this is it, so it’s probably safest.

He staggers off the last step, feels his knees buckle, and doesn’t try to fight gravity as he falls. Slipping out of Kakashi’s hold, he hits the ground, digging his fingers into the tatami mats, and breathes out. Splatters of crimson hit the floor, but he can hardly bring himself to care. Just breathes, careful, desperate breaths, and—

Danzō betrayed him. Danzō betrayed _them,_ was going to take Shisui's eyes for himself, to use for something he likely thought would benefit Konoha. Not on Fugaku, and the rest of the elders, so—he must have had some other plan to deal with the Uchiha.

Shisui really, really doesn’t want to think about what it must have been.

Slowly, carefully, Kakashi kneels beside him, one hand on his back, fingers pressing against his spine. The pressure is grounding, makes Shisui reach out to grip Kakashi’s thigh, and he lists sideways, lets himself fall against Kakashi’s chest with a sound that’s almost a sob. Both of Kakashi’s arms wrap around him in return, haul Shisui up and practically into his lap, and Shisui curls into him, shaking with the buzz of the adrenaline and pain still streaking through his veins.

“I've got you,” Kakashi says into his hair. “I've got you, Shisui,” and it’s by far the sweetest thing Shisui has ever heard.

“Itachi,” he manages, gripping Kakashi’s arm even though his fingers feel weak and shaky. “If Danzō went after me he must have sent someone after Itachi—”

“Tenzō went to get him,” Kakashi says, and there are fingers stroking through his hair. “But no one’s come after him yet. He should be fine.”

That’s even _worse_ , somehow—no moves against Itachi means Danzō likely had plans for him, as well. Shisui loves Itachi, but…he follows orders. He never questions them. And in light of that, with Danzō in possession of Shisui's eyes and no option of Kotoamatsukami? Shisui has a cold, terrible suspicion that he knows exactly what Itachi would have been ordered to do. He laughs, rough and strangled and _desperate_ , and the hand in his hair slides down to cup the back of his head.

“You're bleeding all over me,” Kakashi says, but it’s gentle. “I don’t think I can replace your eye, but I can at least stop the bleeding.”

His summons took Shisui's other eye, Shisui thinks, and breathes out. Good. That means Kakashi is the only one who can retrieve it, and it’s safe. He’s always known Kotoamatsukami is a power that the shinobi world would sell its collective soul for, but—not like this.

“That’s fine,” he says, rough, and lets Kakashi ease him back until they're both kneeling on the mats. Looks up, meeting Kakashi’s dark, worried gaze, and manages a crooked smile as he reaches up, touching the slanted hitai-ate. “We can match, Captain.”

“You mean you did all this just so you could copy me?” Kakashi asks, and there are lines around his eye that say he’s smiling. Shisui supposes that if anyone has practice smiling despite fucking awful circumstances, it’s Kakashi. “Maa, how flattering.”

Shisui laughs, and this time it’s a little closer to genuine. He grips the back of Kakashi’s neck, and the brush of bare skin against his fingertips is electric, something that happens only rarely with the way Kakashi covers his skin. “It’s about time somebody returned the favor,” he says, and the joke falls a little flat, but it’s enough.

Green medical chakra flickers, and cool fingers trace his empty eye socket, leaving a wash of cool relief to eat away at the pulsing agony of it. Shisui has always had a ridiculously high pain tolerance, but he still groans in relief, leaning into the touch, and Kakashi hums lightly, leans in. Shisui tips his head up automatically, and Kakashi kisses him through his mask, careful and slow and lingering even as the bleeding stops.

“Thank you,” Shisui breathes as they separate, and something flickers through Kakashi’s expression, makes him grab Shisui and drag him back into his hold, almost tight enough to bruise. Shisui grips him in return, burying his face in the curve of Kakashi’s throat and trying to make his lungs work. “Gods, Kakashi. _Thank you_.”

Kakashi’s fingertips are ten points of heat against his skin. “Danzō would have killed you,” he says, like the realization is finally sinking in. “And—Sarutobi wouldn’t have done anything afterwards.”

Shisui shivers despite himself, and there's still that Aburame’s poison in his veins, slowing down his reactions, making everything just a little fuzzy and out of focus. Getting his eye gouged out is all too clear, though. And—Danzō _knew_ there was a plan. He was there when Shisui and the Hokage made it. He should have known that Kotoamatsukami would work, without any chance of being broken. And yet, instead of letting Shisui save his clan, he decided to use Root, to take Shisui's eyes for himself.

“Shh,” Kakashi murmurs, right in his ear, and fingers pull his mask down, catch Shisui's chin. Kakashi tips his face up, and Shisui lets him, meets his dark, wild gaze, and—he must look awful, missing an eye, trying to breathe through the haze of poison, bleeding in multiple places. Kakashi doesn’t hesitate to kiss him again, though, and this time it’s deep and warm and strangely sweet.

“Shh,” Kakashi breathes against his lips, and there's a look in his eyes that he gets on the very worst missions, in the middle of a battle, when there's nothing left in him of restraint or anything beyond instinct and act-react. “You’re safe, Shisui. And I'm going to fix it.”

Shisui shivers, swallows. Thinks of _and Sarutobi wouldn’t have done anything_ , and—

Whatever happens next, it can't possibly be any worse than what was coming, he’s absolutely sure of that.

“Okay,” he whispers back, and Kakashi kisses him again, hard and sweet, and wipes away every trace of thought Shisui has left.


End file.
